Identity, Pt. 2
Identity, Pt. 2 is the ninth episode of the second season of ''The Orville'''' and the conclusion of a special two-part episode called 'Identity'. Having taken control of the [[USS Orville|USS ''Orville]], the Kaylon armada travels to Earth for a battle to eliminate all biological life. Identity, Pt. 2 was written by creator Seth MacFarlane and directed by Jon Cassar. Music was composed by Joel McNeely. Plot Act 1 The Kaylon invasion fleet races to Earth, spearheaded by the captured [[USS Orville|USS Orville]], ''while t''he Orville's crew are held captive in their own shuttle bay. Second Officer Bortus and Chief Engineer John LaMarr wonder why the Kaylon keep them alive, but Captain Ed Mercer sees that the Kaylon need them for some ulterior purpose. Helmsman Gordon Malloy fruitlessly attempts to reason with a Kaylon guard. Ty Finn asks his mother Doctor Claire Finn if they can get Isaac's help, but he does not understand that Isaac is dangerous and attempts to rush past the guards to see him. One guard grabs Ty while a second shoots Chief of Security Talla Keyali, who was attempting to intervene. Ty is released by Keyali is left near death. Mercer convinces the guards to escort them to Sick Bay. Act 2 The Kaylon armada speeds along. Claire successfully restores Keyali to heallth. Isaac enters to escort them to the Briefing Room. The officers lash out at Isaac for his betrayal but, under threat of death, they have no choice but obey. Kaylon Primary demand the senior staff tell Planetary Union Central that the coming war fleet is a diplomatic envoy. He explains that, long ago, the Builders created Kaylons with sentience, then enslaved them and punished with pain simulators. The destruction of biological life will prevent such savage barbarism from happening again. Suddenly, a Planetary Union ship approaches. Primary forces Ed and First Officer Kelly Grayson to deceive the oncoming ship, the [[USS Roosevelt|USS Roosevelt]], ''captained by Captain Marcos. However, Mercer and Grayson enact Directive 98 and offer him a "13-button salute," a code that signals a "hostile force has seized control and Union Central must be notified." Primary knew the meaning of the code, however, and several Kaylon Spheres swiftly and easily obliterate the Roosevelt. Act 3 Most of the command crew is returned to the shuttle bay, but Mercer is taken to an airlock on Deck 7 for "punishment." The Kaylon force a young ensign into the airlock. Isaac unsuccessfully attempts to save the ensign, stating his knowledge of Engineering is essential, but Primary orders him to upgrade the ship's shields on the Bridge. Kaylon Secondary releases the airlock and the ensign soon freezes. The armada jumps to quantum drive, leaving his corpse in the dark of space. In the Captain's Office, Primary interrogates Isaac on his sympathy for Humans. He orders Isaac to download a copy of Alex Haley's ''Roots to show Isaac that Humans are inherently violent. He warns Isaac not to show sympathy for the humans orders him to select a new name other than Isaac. In the shuttle bay, the senior officers strategize. The Moclans are too far from Earth to help, but the antagonistic Krill are nearby and could be alerted if a pilot escapes by shuttle. Recognizing that this is a "25th hour" for Earth, the dangerous idea is their best option. Lieutenant Yaphit slides through a crawlspace to the Armory. Inside, he distracts and kills Kaylon guard, retrieving a PM-488 Titan for Bortus in the shuttle bay. Bortus kills the guards; Keyali opens the shuttle bay doors, and Grayson and Malloy abscond by shuttle to Krill space. New Kaylon go to the shuttle bay and a Kaylon Sphere pursues the shuttle. Mercer assigns Yaphit on a mission to send a message to Union Central. Ty volunteers to assist Yaphit, the only other person who can fit through the tubes. Dr Finn doesn't want to endanger her youngest son but Ty convinces her. Ty follows Yaphit through the crawlspace to the communications array. Kaylon guards enter the bay and the crew surrenders. Act 4 Yaphit and Ty enter the communications array room and a message is sent. Two Kaylon guards enter the communications room and Yaphit sacrifices himself by leaping onto a Kaylon, killing him; Ty is captured by the other guard. At Union Central in New York City, Admiral Halsey receives Yaphit's message and orders the entire Union fleet to Earth. His adjutant says recalling the entire fleet would take several weeks but Halsey insists. Meanwhile, Gordon and Grayson are hotly pursued by the Kaylon Sphere. They re-route all power into their quantum drive to escape, but they emerge in an unknown part of space with the shuttle's systems dead and are soon captured by three Krill destroyers. Gordon and Grayson are brought before the Captain Dalek who gloats over his captured "sub-creatures" and does not believe their warning. Grayson tries to convince the Krill commander to combine their forces to fight against the Kaylon invasion. Suddenly, a Kaylon Sphere drops out of quantum space. Act 5 Dalek manages to destroy the Sphere only after a vicious battle in which the other two destroyers were vanquished. "You believe us now?" Grayson asks. Isaac is ordered by Kaylon Primary to his quarters. Primary tells him that they caught Ty trying to send a signal to Earth and believes he did not succeed. As a test of Isaac's loyalty, Primary orders Isaac to kill Ty. Isaac rips Primary's head off and shoots Kaylon Secondary and Kaylon Tertiary. He takes Ty to the Bridge, gives Ty the activation codes for the shuttle bay doors. He instructs Ty to tell Claire that he is 'sorry;' Ty responds that the family loves him. Isaac stares wordlessly, then detonates a pulse of electro-magnetic energy, killing himself and all other Kaylon aboard. Ty returns to the shuttle bay, freeing the Union crew. The crew regains control of the ship just before arriving at Earth. The Union marshlled all ships within range to meet the Kaylon war fleet for battle. Act 6 Battle erupts. Several ships on both sides are destroyed but the Union fleet bears the brunt of the casualties. Kaylon technology is too advanced to be locked upon by scanners, and the Union must manually fire upon the Spheres. Within minutes the Union has lost 32 ships; the Kaylon only six; and Admiral Halsey's heavy cruiser soon after. Three Spheres break from combat and head towards Earth. Six Union ships give chase, including the Orville, but the Spheres return fire. Several Union cruisers are destroyed, and the wreck of the [[USS Hawking|USS Hawking]]'' rams into the Orville. The [[USS Quimby|USS ''Quimby]] is soon destroyed as well. Sphere fire heavily damages the Orville, killing many and partially decompressing the hull. Just as the Spheres seem to have won, a Krill war party arrives and shows "no mercy ... for the glory of Avis." The temporary alliance of Krill and Union forces slowly turns the tide of battle even though many more Union ships and Krill destroyers are lost. The Orville itself loses its upper quantum ring when it collides with a lesser Sphere. However, the battle was won: the remaining Kaylon Spheres retreat. Dalek tells Mercer that Avis brought them together for a reason: "We shall see where that path leads." The Krill force then returns home. Act 7 The crew debates reviving Isaac. Yaphit decides to give it a try and manages to restart Isaac. In orbit above Earth, the fleet makes repairs at the Union Dockyard. In Admiral Halsey's office in Union Central, Halsey informs Mercer and Grayson that the Planetary Union Council is debating whether to dismantle Isaac, but the commanders convince him to allow Isaac to return to the Orville so long as the Council agrees. Isaac looks for Kaylon 1 from the window in the Briefing Room. He tells Claire that he no longer has a home. She replies: I understand you're alone in the universe. And, for a time, that's something you'll have to live with. There's an old Human custom called forgiveness. It, too, takes time. But it must have a beginning. Goodnight, Isaac. Production The idea for Identity came early in production of Season 1, which was tabled for Season 2.@SethMacFarlane. "It was always locked and loaded, yessir. Surprise!". Twitter. Feb. 21, 2019. Jeff Bond, author of The World of the Orville, said that a story arc for Season 2 was already discussed by the close of the first. "I'm very interested because there's one character in particular that they had a plan for, what they were going to do with him for Season 2, and I'd love to see them do it; but I can't tell you what that plan is."Alvarez, Chris. "Sci-fi television - The World of The Orville - Jeff Bond interview - AAD 88". YouTube. Dec. 20, 2018. It is now believed that Bond was speaking of the pivotal mid-season scripts for Identity, which revealed Isaac's true origins and the dark mechanations of the Kaylon species. By November 2017, creator Seth MacFarlane revealed that scripts were already written that explore Isaac's origins. "We have a very clear idea of what we want him to be.""Brannon Braga & The Orville Cast Full interview 2017 Panel NYC convention". NYC ComicCon. Nov. 20, 2017. According to actor Mark Jackson (Isaac), the writers wanted to deny audience's expectations about the Kaylon, and he later recalled being "pleasantly shocked" once he read the story.Dilip, Mangala. "'The Orville' star Mark Jackson wishes to check-off Star Wars next; Is Jon Favreau listening?". Maww. Dec. 5, 2018. "Shit's about to get big," MacFarlane remarked.@SethMacFarlane. "Thanks for watching #TheOrville last night! For those of you who’ve stuck with the series from the start, get ready for next week. Shit’s about to get big.". Twitter. Feb. 15, 2019. The main cast gathered for a table read on or around June 8, 2018. The episode was given a provisional title of "Episode 208."Photograph published by @EgotasticFT. Twitter. June 8, 2018. MacFarlane wanted only Jon Cassar in the director's chair for the two-part episode of Identity. "Seth came up to me and said, 'I've got a two-parter that I specifically want you to direct," Cassar recalled."The Orville Official Fan Podcast w/ Kai Wener and Jon Cassar (32)". Planetary Union Network. Feb. 23, 2019. Deleted scenes Imprisoned by the Kaylon in the Orville's Shuttle Bay, Bortus asks Klyden about Topa's welfare and Klyden asks if they are going to die. "I do not know," he replies. "But we will not die without fighting." Meanwhile, Ed wonders if the Kaylon are merely the next step in evolution, that even if the Kaylon fail today, eventually artificial life will replace biological life. A video of the scenes was posted to the official The Orville Twitter page. Trivia * The ensign who is sucked out of an airlock by the Kaylon is played by Mark Mammone, a production assistant on the show. ** A common mistaken belief is that the sacrificed ensign wore a red uniform (indicative of the Security section). In fact, he wore an orange Engineering uniform. The uniform appears red under the Kaylon's lighting. * A "13 button salute" is United States naval slang, meaning: "When a sailor in dress pants pulls down on the top two corners and all 13 buttons come unbuttoned at once, usually done just before sex."Appendix:Glossary of U.S. Navy slang. Wikipedia. Last accessed March 1, 2019. References * Kelly recalls Gordon and Ed's experience aboard the Yakar in the episode Krill. * Gordon makes two references to the movie Top Gun: once while showing his teeth from the window of the Krill fighter and again when he says, "Just a walk in the park, Kazansky!" * During the battle for Earth, John exclaims, "Boom, bitch!," when a Kaylon ship is destroyed, just as he did when the Orville destroyed a Krill destroyer.Episode 1x04: If the Stars Should Appear Mistakes * Isaac says the code to the Shuttle Bay doors is A 1 4 O 6, but Ty only presses three buttons. Cast Main cast * Seth MacFarlane as Capt. Ed Mercer * Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson * Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus * J. Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr * Jessica Szohr as Lt. Talla Keyali * Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn * Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy * Mark Jackson as Isaac Special guest cast * Nick Chinlund as Captain Dalek Recurring cast * Graham Hamilton as Kaylon Primary * Robert David Grant as Kaylon Secondary * Jay Whittaker as Kaylon Tertiary * Victor Garber as Admiral Halsey * Norm Macdonald as Yaphit * BJ Tanner as Marcus Finn * Kai Wener as Ty Finn * Chad L. Coleman as Klyden * Blesson Yates as Topa Guest cast * Alveraz Ricardez as Adjutant * Francis Lloyd Corby as Crewman * Mark Mammone as Ensign * Jon Root as Krill Pilot * Carlos Bernard as Captain Marcos * Stephen Blackehart as Krill Second Officer * Paul Rogan as Kaylon Guard #1 Uncredited * Francis Lloyd Corby as Crewman References